The Interprofessional Organization for Beef and Veal in Spain, PROVACUNO, while Interovic and JTT the Interprofessional Organizations for Sheep and Goat Meat in Spain and Hungary have published today the complete video of the Second European Animal Welfare Symposium, held last 20th September in the Sparks space in Brussels with the participation of some twenty expert speakers from all over Europe and more than 500 attendees, in both physical and telematic format.
The meeting, which lasted a full day, was the second edition of the largest event on European animal welfare and forms part of the set of actions planned within the promotion plan co-financed with European funds to promote animal welfare European Animal Welfare Commitment, promoted by Interovic, Provacuno and JTT, with the aim of generating a scientific and technical debate on this subject on the continent.
The event’s aim, organised in several round tables with participants from the main entities and institutions at European level, was to promote advances that lead to maximum animal welfare guarantees. In this sense, during her speech at the closing of the conference, Ms. Joanna Stawowy, member of the cabinet of the European Commissioner for Agriculture Janusz Wojciechowski, called for a «political exercise» in the coming years to improve the state of animal welfare in Europe.
Before, during the development of the Second Symposium, in addition to the participation of representatives of the three interprofessional, Interovic, JTT and Provacuno, various experts analysed the current situation of animal welfare in Europe, such as Dr. Estelle Hamelin, from the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), Miguel Ángel Higuera, from the European Platform for Animal Welfare, Carolina Cucurella, from the UECBV, and Inés Ajuda from the Eurogroup For Animals. All of them provided information and opinions on the different initiatives that are contributing to improving welfare worldwide, as well as emphasising how relations between the governments of different countries, interprofessional and legislators, both national and international, can help.
In a second panel discussion, «From science to certification to the table», Andrea Gavinelli, head of the Animal Welfare unit SANTE.G.3, called for breaking down barriers in Europe «to support initiatives such as European Animal Welfare» and, together, «to move forward through dialogue, negotiation, appropriate and effective legislation and learning from each other». Gavinelli was joined on stage by Laura Boyle of the European Federation of Animal Science (EAAP), Paolo Ferrari of the Centro Ricerche Produzioni Animali (CRPA) and Laura Godoy of Bureau Veritas.
The closing panel, «Consumption and Animal Welfare», analysed the relationship between the consumer and animal welfare and the relationship between consumer and animal welfare.
An event created to improve our world and our reality».
For Raúl Muñiz, president of Interovic, the event provided «very important reflections on European animal welfare and how, together, we are going to be able to improve our sector so that at the same time it serves to improve our world, our reality, our society and, of course, the daily lives of our farmers and our production chain, which are our reason for being and what has brought us together here today».
For his part, Javier López, director general of Provacuno, emphasised that «the importance of this European animal welfare promotion program and other programs aimed at the domestic market, allow European consumers to know and value the work that the sectors carry out to meet their requirements, providing them with products of the highest quality through accredited certification, also encouraging cooperation between the member states of the Union».
To access the video in English: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Df4DgiKV90
